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Strengthening voluntary standards for businesses on preventing and combating trafficking in persons and labour exploitation, especially in supply chains 2017, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Corporate codes of conduct and the voluntary standards set by multi-stakeholder initiatives and industry coalitions typically include a reference to trafficking in persons or forced labour. The trafficking in persons, or forced labour, standard is normally based on international human rights instruments and labour standards. However, the reference is often limited to a mere prohibition of the use of forced labour or trafficking in persons and is not further developed into specific indicators to help identify risk practices and define what forced labour or trafficking in persons may look like in practice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Strengthening voluntary standards for businesses on preventing and combating trafficking in persons and labour exploitation, especially in supply chains 2017, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- In 2012, an executive order aimed at strengthening protections against trafficking in persons in federal contracts was signed in the United States. The new amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation include further due diligence measures in respect of contractors and address key risk indicators, such as the use of unethical recruitment practices, in particular by prohibiting contractors from charging recruitment fees to workers and from denying employees access to their personal documents.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Strengthening voluntary standards for businesses on preventing and combating trafficking in persons and labour exploitation, especially in supply chains 2017, para. 61g
- Paragraph text
- [Participants identified several other actions and interventions, listed below, which have also helped the Special Rapporteur define areas for further engagement and work under the mandate in strengthening the strategies implemented by multi-stakeholder initiatives and industry coalitions to detect and tackle trafficking in persons:] New and better data on the risks of forced labour and trafficking in supply chains, disaggregated by region, sector and industry, is needed. Companies and auditors should be encouraged to share anonymized data from audit results;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Strengthening voluntary standards for businesses on preventing and combating trafficking in persons and labour exploitation, especially in supply chains 2017, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Unfortunately, the regulation of labour recruiters and elimination of unethical recruitment practices are far from homogenous at a global scale and the level of ratification of the ILO Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181) is low. Some national jurisdictions do not regulate the activities of labour recruiters, allowing a flourishing “informalization” of the industry and permitting practices such as the payment of recruitment fees by jobseekers. Furthermore, in some jurisdictions, workers contracted through employment agencies are not offered the same level of social protection as direct employees, creating a second class of workers and exacerbating the potential negative impact of the lack of regularization of this sector.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The international legal framework around trafficking in conflict and post-conflict situations is a composite one that draws on multiple branches of law, including transnational criminal law, international humanitarian law, international criminal law, refugee law and human rights law. In some cases, common and overlapping rules operate to ensure that certain protections (e.g., against slavery and forced labour) are applicable in all situations, including international and non-international armed conflict. In other cases, particular rules and protections will apply depending on the nature of the situation under consideration.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Other accepted sources of international law, such as State practice, custom and the decisions of international tribunals, can also be relevant when determining exactly what is required of States with respect to their response to trafficking in situations of conflict. In relation to custom, for example, the prohibition on slavery is recognized to be a part of customary international law, binding on all States irrespective of whether they have actually become party to one or more treaties that specifically prohibit slavery in all situations, including in conflict. The prohibition on forced labour of civilians has also been identified as a rule of customary international humanitarian law (see para. 53 below). Examples of judgments of international tribunals that have helped to shape the international legal framework include Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia, decided by the European Court of Human Rights in 2010, which is relevant to State responsibility to investigate and prevent trafficking, and the decision by the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in Prosecutor v. Kunarac et al. (2001) convicting the defendants of enslavement as a crime against humanity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- An overview of the international legal framework around trafficking in conflict and post-conflict situations, which draws on multiple branches of law, including transnational criminal law, international humanitarian law, international criminal law, refugee law and human rights law, is provided by the Special Rapporteur in her report to the thirty-second session of the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/32/41, paras. 44-55). The report also covers the laws and instruments that address specific violations related to trafficking in conflict and post-conflict situations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Agenda setting of the work of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur will continue to build on the work of the mandate in that field and capitalize on the momentum created by new legislation and initiatives from businesses and civil society to free the supply chains from trafficking, forced labour and slavery. On the basis of her global mandate, international standing and expertise on issues relating to trafficking in persons, the Special Rapporteur intends to continue engaging with businesses in order to encourage the establishment and effective implementation of self-regulatory action (codes of conduct and other similar mechanisms) by the private sector, with the aim of increasing awareness of the risks that trafficking entails, and encouraging them to take action to eradicate trafficking from their supply chains. That would entail the mandate holder bringing together businesses in a number of selected sectors to exchange experiences and practices among themselves, review their assessment protocols through the lens of trafficking prevention, pilot the use of the benchmarks and indicators and encourage multi-stakeholder initiatives, where they exist, to operationalize the responsibility of businesses to respect human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Due diligence and trafficking in persons 2015, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Human rights due diligence on trafficking is also relevant in the activities of non-State actors, such as business enterprises, trade unions and employer organizations. As with all other non-State actors, States have an obligation to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and punish trafficking through their laws and policies toward business entities. This includes, for example, general rules requiring that businesses respect human rights and mandating that they undertake some form of human rights due diligence, as well as specific conditions on how States will conduct commercial transactions with business enterprises, including in their public procurement activities (e.g., by including a zero tolerance policy towards trafficking in contractual clauses and more generally revising public procurement procedures to prevent abusive and fraudulent recruitment). Other good practices include that in Brazil, where the Government "maintains public records of individuals and corporations identified by labour inspectors to be using or to have used slave labour", who then subsequently "face financial sanctions, including fines and denial of national subsidies, tax exemptions and loans from State banks." Disclosure requirements in domestic legislation that mandate companies to make their anti-trafficking policy, if they have one, transparent, is a recent form of State practice that could be strengthened by mandating that companies have such anti-trafficking policies in place and report on their implementation. Recruitment agency licensing to regulate recruitment practices and to require that workers are not charged recruitment fees can be a particularly effective form of State practice to reduce the vulnerability of migrants to trafficking. For example, "some countries in the Americas, including Peru, have explicitly prohibited recruitment agencies from engaging in trafficking and from charging workers any recruitment fees". Additionally, Indonesia and Nepal, "alongside a licensing process, there is a system by which workers can report abuses committed by recruitment agencies to the government."
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Agenda setting of the work of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- No country or region is spared the crime of trafficking in persons, which can occur everywhere - at the national, subregional, regional, transcontinental and international levels. Recent trends reveal that victims tend to be trafficked from poor countries to more affluent ones within a region. Similarly, there is also a correlation between the affluence of a destination country (measured by its gross domestic product) and the share of victims trafficked there from other regions (transregional trafficking). Richer countries attract victims from a variety of origins and countries, whereas less affluent countries are mainly affected by domestic or subregional trafficking flows.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Agenda setting of the work of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, trafficking in persons has been identified as a problem across a variety of economic sectors, including those integrated into global markets. It has been reported that the economic sectors most exposed to trafficking in persons include agriculture and horticulture, construction, garments and textiles, hospitality and catering, mining, logging and forestry, fishing, food processing and packaging, transportation, domestic service and other care and cleaning work. In those cases, trafficking in persons may be carried out by businesses and/or their business partners, including suppliers, subcontractors, labour brokers or private recruitment agencies, often because of the motivation to derive economic benefits from exploitable labour or services provided by trafficked persons or because of unmonitored or unregulated supply chain practices (see A/67/261, paras. 8-12). It is worth mentioning that in such cases trafficking in persons can and does occur without the transfer of victims from one place to another. The focus should therefore be on the exploitation, rather than the way the person has reached the destination country.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
The first decade of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children 2014, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Public awareness. Awareness-raising campaigns can be an important method of prevention on two levels: first, by working with at-risk communities to warn them of the dangers of trafficking and second, by sensitizing the public in countries of destination to the plight of trafficked persons and informing them about their in role in prevention. However, the Special Rapporteur has noted that public awareness campaigns are sometimes crude in conception and execution, employing sensationalist scare tactics or designed simply to stop people from moving. There has also been very little critical examination of the effect of such campaigns, including the unintended negative effects that have been anecdotally noted by the Special Rapporteur in the course of her work, pointing to a need for all countries to monitor and regularly evaluate the impact of their prevention efforts.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The first decade of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children 2014, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- During the first decade of the mandate, the mandate holders have consistently sought to identify those factors that contribute to increasing the vulnerability to trafficking of an individual or a group. The work of the mandate has revealed consistency across all regions and all manifestations of trafficking with regard to the factors that include human rights violations associated with (a) poverty and inequality, (b) migration and (c) discrimination, including through gender-based violence. Critically, there is almost never a single root cause; as the Special Rapporteur has noted, "it is the combination of multiple factors that may place certain individuals at a higher risk of being trafficked" (A/65/288, para. 26). The Special Rapporteur has maintained throughout that States have a legal obligation to work to prevent trafficking by addressing vulnerability. That obligation is part of international treaty law and has been regularly affirmed by the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, as well as by the human rights treaty bodies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The first decade of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children 2014, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- In the course of her work the Special Rapporteur has also actively solicited input from the private sector and from persons and institutions with particular expertise. In relation to specialist subjects, such as trafficking in persons for the removal of organs, the Special Rapporteur has sought external expertise from the medical and transplant communities, in an effort to ensure the accuracy of her reporting and the practical relevance of her recommendations, as well as to improve understanding among relevant stakeholders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Stocktaking exercise on the work of the mandate on its tenth Anniversary 2014, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Consistent with the commitment of the mandate to tackling difficult, emerging and under-researched issues, the Special Rapporteur has focused her attention on trafficking in persons for the removal of organs as a form of exploitation related to trafficking, with a view to contributing to the international conversation at a pivotal point. Her report to the General Assembly on the issue (A/68/256) was based on an expert background paper, peer-reviewed by an informal group of transplant specialists, ethicists and researchers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The first decade of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children 2014, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The prevention of trafficking through addressing the underlying vulnerabilities of individuals and groups has been a key theme of the mandate since its inception. However the mandate holders have always accepted that the concept of prevention is much wider than this, encompassing the full range of measures aimed at preventing future acts of trafficking from occurring. International law requires that States act with due diligence to prevent trafficking and the human rights violations with which it is associated. The mandate has examined the general concept of prevention and particular aspects of a preventive approach, including addressing demand and supply chain transparency and accountability. Key questions include, for example, what role should measures to encourage safe migration and protect labour rights play in a national or regional prevention strategy? Should States seek to raise public awareness about trafficking? What is required of States with respect to addressing the demand for the goods and services produced through trafficking? How does the obligation of prevention operate in respect of addressing trafficking-related exploitation in supply chains and how can business be encouraged to support supply chains that are free of trafficking? These are complex, difficult issues and the mandate has not been able to address them in full, rather seeking to raise awareness among States and others that will help contribute to a greater understanding of what is required and how it may be achieved.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Stocktaking exercise on the work of the mandate on its tenth Anniversary 2014, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Awareness-raising campaigns concerning the plight and rights of trafficked persons can also be important methods of prevention for at-risk communities and the public in countries of destination, transit and source. However, the Special Rapporteur has noted that public awareness campaigns are sometimes crude in conception and execution, employing sensationalist scare tactics or designed to stop people from moving. There has also been very little critical examination of the effects of such campaigns, including the unintended negative effects of prevention efforts.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The first decade of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children 2014, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- While trafficking in persons for the removal of organs is specified as a form of exploitation related to trafficking in the international legal definition, until very recently the mandate did not deal substantively with this issue. This reflected the paucity of reliable information on the practice and uncertainty around its true extent. However, in recent years, there have been a series of reputable reports documenting systematic trafficking in persons for the removal of organs in several different regions of the world and major prosecutions in Africa and Europe. Anecdotal reports of this form of trafficking in persons were also provided to the mandate in the context of recent country visits. Consistently with the commitment of the mandate to tackling difficult, emerging and under-researched issues, the Special Rapporteur focused her attention on trafficking in persons for the removal of organs, with a view to contributing to the international conversation at a pivotal point. She reported on trafficking in persons for the removal of organs on the basis of an expert background paper, peer-reviewed by an informal group of transplant specialists, ethicists and researchers. (A/68/256).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Stocktaking exercise on the work of the mandate on its tenth Anniversary 2014, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- The participatory and collaborative methodology adopted by the mandate holders has enabled them to benefit from engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including international, regional and subregional bodies working on trafficking issues; the private sector; and persons and institutions with particular expertise, such as the medical and transplant communities. Greater visibility of the mandate, through cooperation and partnership with States and stakeholders, was further identified by a number of States and stakeholders as an element which enables the mandate holder to fulfil the role of the moral voice for trafficking in persons in an independent manner. Interaction with victims of trafficking has also been critical, drawing from real experiences and ensuring that the measures taken to address trafficking benefit those in need; that unintended harmful consequences are anticipated and avoided; and that opportunities for change and improvement are identified in a timely way.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The first decade of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children 2014, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Supply chains and public-private partnerships. The mandate has maintained a strong focus on non-State actors and the role they can or should play in preventing and responding to trafficking. Information about trafficked labour in the supply chains of major industries, including agriculture, information and communications technology, fishing, garment-making and textiles, has alerted the mandate to the importance of engaging directly with business corporations. Over the past years, the Special Rapporteur has taken up this difficult issue, undertaking research and holding wide-ranging consultations on trafficking in global supply chains. In a dedicated report she outlined a series of clear and practical recommendations for businesses and States to help them eliminate trafficking in the supply chain (A/67/261). This provided the basis for further consultations with business experts that resulted in a draft set of benchmarks and indicators for ensuring that supply chains are free of trafficking. That draft was presented to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-third session (A/HRC/23/48/Add.4, appendix I) and the second United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights in 2013.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The restricted scope of the present report is a reflection of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. It also reflects an appreciation of human exploitation for the purposes of organ transplantation, primarily from living sources, as a discrete problem that requires specific solutions. It is important, however, to acknowledge that this issue cannot be fully separated from broader questions around transplantation, including those relating to equitable allocation of organs and approaches to dealing with organ shortages. The exploitation of human beings for purposes of organ transplantation is also linked to other commodification practices, such as transnational commercial surrogacy, which hold special dangers for the rights and dignity of the world's poorest and most vulnerable, and to broader questions of justice and rights that arise in the context of medical tourism.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- While substantial gaps in knowledge and understanding remain, it is now well established that there are no technical or practical obstacles to trafficking in persons for the removal of organs, that this practice does in fact occur and that it is not rare. The main points of disagreement relate to the extent of the problem, the economics of the trafficking and identification of the many parties that may be implicated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- This is confirmed by many of the case studies examined by the Special Rapporteur that meet the following three elements of the crime and human rights violation of trafficking in persons: the act (individuals were recruited, harboured and/or received, often also transported and transferred); the means (the acts were secured through fraud (relating to payment, effects, follow-up care, etc.), sometimes also through force and coercion, often through abuse of a position of vulnerability); and the purpose (the acts were undertaken for purposes of exploitation by removal of an organ). It is certainly possible that some of the cases may fall within the various non-legal and non-binding conceptions of trafficking in organs. There can be no doubt, however, that they are, first and foremost, situations of trafficking in persons. Critically, provided that one or more of the means are established, whether victims have consented to the procedure or have received payment for undergoing the procedure is irrelevant.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- As has been noted previously, characterizing practices such as organ commercialization or transplant tourism as trafficking in persons for the removal of organs has a substantial effect on the nature of State obligations and on individual rights that arise as a result of those obligations. For example, States parties to the Trafficking in Persons Protocol are, pursuant to article 5, under a clear international legal obligation to criminalize trafficking in persons for the purpose of removal of organs as well as attempting, participating in, organizing and directing other persons in the commission of trafficking in persons for the purpose of removal of organs. They are also required to establish liability in respect of both natural persons and legal persons, thereby extending the reach of criminal and civil law to the medical and other establishments that are so often involved in trafficking in persons for the removal of organs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- The broader legal framework around trafficking in persons includes international human rights law. The importance of a rights-based and victim-centred approach to trafficking in persons has been well established and the parameters of such a response have been fleshed out in detail in the reports of the Special Rapporteur to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly (see A/65/288 and A/HRC/20/18) and in the Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking (E/2002/68/Add.1). Very little attention has been paid, however, to how such a response would be developed and applied in the context of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs. In general, it appears that the procedures and approaches developed to date do not take full account of the particularities of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs, including the needs of victims. This state of affairs has contributed to marginalization of victims and their rights, including within broader policy discussions around transplantation and transplantation-related exploitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Outside of the rules and standards that apply to trafficking in persons, the international legal framework around many of the practices examined herein is extremely weak. For example, as shown above, there is no clear international prohibition against transplant tourism and very few States have succeeded in legislating effectively in the area. Commercialization of transplantation is subject to strong censure by WHO and professional groups and has been banned by many countries, but international law is silent on this issue. This lacuna creates gaps and weaknesses that prevent strong national responses, inhibit cross-border and international cooperation and obscure the very real human rights issues that lie at the heart of transplantation-related exploitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Integration of a human rights-based approach in measures to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, and which leads to human trafficking 2013, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- As stated in the Trafficking in Persons Protocol, factors that make people vulnerable to trafficking and demand must be addressed in the strategies to prevent trafficking. This is further reinforced by the Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking. Principles 4 and 5 and guideline 7 provide that strategies to prevent trafficking shall address demand as a root cause and States shall ensure that their interventions address the factors that increase vulnerability to trafficking, including inequality, poverty and all forms of discrimination. States may be held legally responsible for their failure to take adequate measures to prevent trafficking in persons, including measures to discourage demand. States in which exploitation of persons occurs or is alleged to occur have a particular responsibility to take action to discourage demand.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The following case study summaries provide some indication of the nature of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs and of the many countries that may be involved.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Prohibition of trafficking in persons for removal of organs. States parties to the Trafficking in Persons Protocol, of which there are currently 157, are required to criminalize trafficking of persons for a range of purposes, including for organ removal. Most countries have enacted such laws, but not all have included trafficking in persons for the removal of organs within their scope. It is relevant to note that, within national legislation, the offence of trafficking in persons often has a broad jurisdictional basis that enables prosecution for offences occurring outside the country involving a citizen as either a victim or a perpetrator, thereby opening up a potential avenue to prohibit and prosecute practices relating to transplant tourism. The offence may bring such practices within the operation of other national laws, such as those relating to transnational organized crime, corruption and money laundering. Conduct relating to trafficking in persons for the removal of organs may also be subject to prosecution through the application of criminal laws dealing with matters such as assault, fraud and falsification of identity or travel documentation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- With a few exceptions, regional intergovernmental responses to trafficking in persons for the removal of organs have been limited to the European system. Those responses have generally been on two tracks that mirror developments elsewhere: responses that have focused on trafficking in organs and responses that have included organ removal within definitions and instruments dealing with trafficking in persons. In relation to the second category, it should be noted that the major specialist instruments dealing with trafficking in persons within Europe (the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA) both include organ removal as a form of trafficking-related exploitation. In relation to the first category, the Council of Europe has been especially active. The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine articulated many of the principles affirmed in other instruments, including, in article 21, that "the human body and its parts shall not, as such, give rise to financial gain". An additional protocol to the Convention concerning transplantation of organs and tissues of human origin, adopted in 2001, extended its provisions to many issues associated with organ and tissue transplantation, including a prohibition on the (undefined) practice of organ trafficking. It has been noted that the practice infringes human rights, exploits vulnerable persons and undermines public trust in the transplant system. Consideration of this issue was extended in 2003 when the Parliamentary Assembly issued a recommendation on trafficking in organs in Europe.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
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